Reviews

Amelia Gray's Museum of the Weird by Amelia Gray

abetterbradley's review against another edition

2.0

This book is weird. So be fair warned. The stories are hit or miss. But, overall, it was entertaining.

werdfert's review against another edition

3.0

I read Amelia Gray's Museum of the Weird in about 5 hours. It was a collection of short stories about things that don't really happen, but I'm not sure if that makes them weird. What was weird was her obsession with food. Here is a partial list of things eaten:
pieces of chocolate
human tongue
toes
fish sticks
hair
tomato-cream bisque
prickly pears
packet of sunflower seeds
cottage cheese
banana bread
hair (again)
even more hair
lemon bars
2 goldfish
porterhouse steak
creamed peas
strawberry
warm bread
gelatin
balogna sandwiches
tostadas
king ranch chicken
sloppy joes
a mint
meatloaf
spaghetti and meatballs
pork barbecue and french fries
breakfast tacos
fajitas
onion soup
quesadillas
chicken fried steak
grilled cheese sandwiches
steak and eggs
baked potato
tomato soup
pork chops
cheese crisp
ham and cheese
fish sandwiches
chicken salad
corn dogs
tamale pie
vegetable soup
macaroni
chili
hamburger
tomato
corn chips
yogurt
some more cottage cheese
protein shake
jelly beans
bread crumbs
slices of meat
grilled onions
milkshakes
cheeseburger no lettuce
tater tots
english muffins
mustard
peanuts
animal crackers
crab cake
tuna
summer squash
cinnamon
leaves off a tree
cat food
tiny screws
pages of a book
baking soda
the number 2 from a telephone keypad
love
bread
eggs

udai's review against another edition

5.0

I'm a big fan of short stories, and this one takes short stories to a whole new level. Amelia Gray is an artist. Her sentences flow effortlessly. The structures she builds will remain standing after this world perishes. I'm deeply in love.

moreadsbooks's review against another edition

3.0

In Calliope, a story in Neil Gaiman's Dream Country, Dream dicovers that the muse of the same name, his former lover and mother of his son, has been imprisoned and brutalized by a writer, Richard Madoc. When he insists that Richard free her and his lame excuse is that he can't yet because he needs the ideas, Dream scoffs, "You want ideas? You want dreams? Here they are." Cue Richard several hours later, scratching his hands bloody on the wall, trying desperately to write down the immense flood of idea fragments that he's being inundated with. Dream is a bit of a badass.

This book is kind of like that, minus the bloody hands. Idea fragments that sound cool. In many cases, this works out great - The Darkness, about the penguin and the armadillo in a bar, really cannot be expounded on anymore and would be tedious if longer. It's short & sweet and perfect the way it is. However, stories like Babies & Unsolved Mystery need more development. They start going somewhere dark and weird and awesome - and then they stop. Three stars because the stories that are good are good and I appreciate the effort, but I want more.

beccathejenks's review against another edition

2.0

I was optimistic about this collection, as I’m generally a fan of short stories. Unfortunately, I only found a few of them at all compelling. It felt like most of them were like ‘here is a weird thing. Boy, isn’t that weird?’ And then it was over.

When I read short stories, I’m looking for high emotional impact and/or insight into characters. These really didn’t do it for me. Exceptions: Dinner, Thoughts While Strolling, A Javelina Story, and Love, Mortar.

christinalepre's review against another edition

3.0

There were about a dozen excellent stories in this collection - the prose is so sharp and funny and weird. I loved these stories. But unfortunately, there are a lot of weaker stories in this collection, too. I wish an editor had pared this down, rather than allow the author to publish a collection that included so many less successful pieces. But the stories that are good are GREAT, so read it for those. My favorites: Babies, Waste, Trip advisory: the boyhood home of former president Ronald Reagan, Fish.